Starting Stash Dash 2014!

WiP: Boot Cuffs for a friend; Calligraphy Cardigan

All right, so here's the plan for the summer!

I am participating in The Knit Girllls Stash Dash 2014 (you require a Ravelry account to access this forum).

What Stash Dash means is that any project from May 23 to August 7 that you bind off is counted as using up "stash."

To be qualified for the prizes in this, you have to bind off a total of 5K of yarn, or 5,468yd.

This includes spinning, knitting, crocheting, etc.

This is what I'm at currently: <a href="http://www.TickerFactory.com/counter/wFMv8q2/">
<img border="0" src="http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/t/wFMv8q2/counter.png"></a>

So, 915/5468. I'm going to put that ticker at the top of the page, so help cheer me on, please!!

My current plans for the rest of the yardage are:

Another pair of boot cuffs (cabled) (Current carry-around project)
Want to finish: Cozy Calligraphy Cardigan ( Calligraphy Cardigan ) - ~2,016 yd

Want to do:
My Hope - 450 yd
Owls - ~830-850 yd
Pont Neuf - ~2,048 yd

Without boot cuffs = Approx. 6,259yd. Yeah! Let's keep our fingers crossed! I would only really need to do the My Hope and the Pont Neuf to reach my goal. But we'll see. I REALLY want that Owls sweater, especially since I have the perfect yarn AND I knit one for my future niece for Christmas last year...It would be super fast. And considering that we're driving out to Victoria for the get away right after the wedding, Pont Neuf/Owls would be perfect to carry with me!!

I may also be working on another top for Florida, too, though. I just found this one: Feather & Fan Ribbed Tee by Judy Croucher

But the benefit to the other three is that I have the stats for it already...And the Feather & Fan Tee would need new yarn...Although I'm going to put it on my list for my birthday. It might have to wait until after the wedding, though. We'll see. haha

Are any of you participating in Stash Dash?

Please keep your fingers crossed for me that I make it!

Katie =^..^=

It's a Super Short Post...With Pictures!

WiP: Wedding Socks

My shawl, she is blocked! I love it soooooooo much! I"ll make sure to get some better pictures later, but I figured you may as well see it as it was drying! :)

And, I found these beauties at Safeway the other day! I LOVE peonies!!

They've bloomed a lot more since I've taken this picture, too:

Not much else going on. Excited for the weekend so that I can start sewing table runners - I've finally finished the tidy-up that has been going on since January!

Hope all is well.

Katie =^..^=

95% Complete

WiP Wedding socks (that's right, folks, ONE WiP right now!)
Hibernating: Calligraphy Cardigan (to be picked up next)
Planned for the spinning wheel: Finish the white lambswool on there currently and fly with the brown wool I spun way back when. Then, the next braid of the Dragonfly Dyewerx I've had for a long time, which then will become fingerless mitts of some description.
Planned for knitting: Secret project; boot cuffs for a friend. 

Phew! I finished my wedding shawl!! Well, the knitting and the weaving in of the ends is complete - I still need to block out the edging. But I did put it into a bath last night, and it opened up beautifully~! Before the long weekend, I was at 9 repeats, and I knew I wanted to make it larger. So I have ended up with 11 blooms and then the finishing edge, and it looks fantastic!

Friday evening Saturday day Monday night!

It's going to take a lot of patience to block this shawl, so I will have to resoak it and block. But I need some supplies - like blocking wires and pins - before I do so. As you can see, the pattern opened up a lot from when I was knitting it.

This is the Blooming Stitch Shawl by Mary R. White in Cascade Yarns Heritage Silk, a fingering weight yarn that is an 85/15 merino/silk blend. I used my Chiaogoo 4.5mm (US 7) needles. It worked up in just over a month (started April 12, 2014). I beaded the very last stitch in the middle of each bloom before working down to through the decreases. This is nice and airy but has a nice weight to it. Cannot wait to wear it on my wedding day!

I am also very glad to have it finished, because I can now work on other knitting projects, and a couple things that have been nagging at my brain to get them off of paper and made from yarn. So keep your eyes peeled for some very different items soon!

In other news, I'm also working on the rest of the stuff that needs to happen for the wedding. Like, airing/dewrinkling the obit we're using for table runners:

These are all used obi from Etsy sellers. They're hung over the pony wall for the second floor of my home. They are the correct width, and only a few need any treatment to make them "more" like a table runner. They are an eclectic bunch, and the middle tables of the sets of three are going to have Indonesian batik runners, but I think that it'll be charming! At least, that's what I'm hoping!

So, watch for a bit more sewing over the next few weeks as I get everything there settled up.

Katie =^..^=

They Were Itty-Bitty, Tweeny-Weeny Cross Stitches that She Did for the First Time in Years!

WiP: Wedding socks, wedding shawl
FOs: Nada

That's right. I wanted a complete change of pace, so I started a cross stitch. The funny thing is, I switched from cross stitch to knitting when I first started university because, a) I had screwed up a pattern sooooo badly that there isn't really any way to recover it without unpicking the whole thing. b) I thought that knitting would involve less counting! (Yes, I heard that sniggering. I just wasn't it enough at that point, apparently! hah)

 

This is officially the first cross-stitching I've done in about 5 years. That, my friends, is about 100 stitches over two hours. And that is my index finger...This project, in which every last inch is stitched...Is going to take awhile. But that's OK. This is currently a zen project, without a deadline, so I can work on it as much or as little as I want. And that's what I needed more than anything. Still, I'm not used to 18 count Aida fabric, which is what this is - generally I work on 14 count, so this nearly feels like petty point to me (although I know it isn't)!

 

And these, which I'm super happy with right now, are my wedding socks. I love the yarn (Sweet Georgia Sock in Summer Dusk). But I can't wait to have them finished, either, so that I can start carrying around stock items to knit while I walk! (Like, mittens...And dare I say...baby sweaters...??)

That's what I've been working on right now! We're down to the crunch, and I'm moving as quickly as I can on my wedding shawl - I'm probably about 60% done at this time - I have 7/10-12 repeats complete at this time, so we'll see what I'm sitting at when I complete the 8th repeat (required)...I'm leaning towards something with at least 12 repeats, though, since it still looks too small right now! I'm also trying to estimate how large it will be once I complete the 8th repeat, since even though I'm not wearing it until after the ceremony, I don't want it to interfere too much with my dress. haha

Anyway! Debates. We're under 2.5 months, which I know is going to fly by! Wish me luck!

Katie =^..^=

 

Post-Ravellenics

WiP: Wedding socks for Dallas, shawl for me
FOs: My socks, for me!

So, all was quiet on the blog front again for a couple weeks, sorry! I've been super busy here sorting stuff out for the wedding and knitting, and trying to get as much of my wedding shawl down as a unofficial challenge to myself for Ravellenics.

This photo is pre-rip, when I pulled back to the last line of decreases that I had made correctly. I am, however, now onto the fourth or fifth repeat of this shawl and loving the pattern - it finally clicked with me, which was nice. haha I'm thinking I want to try to get up around 10-12 repeats, perhaps more. Once this pattern clicked, I'm finding it a fairly simply knit - you just need to keep your stitch counts in line for your repeats! This is Handmaiden Lace Silk, Ruby Red colorway, and I'm doing the 7 leaves/8 blooms style, although I do want it around 12 repeats - seems like it will be easy enough to enlarge. I want it big enough that I can wear it comfortably. The silk is going to keep it super light and nice, though. I don't even feel any weight on my needles yet. Kind of crazy!

My "Dory" socks!
This was a week or so ago, when I was halfway through the first sock. Biscotte & Cie, Poisson Tang Colourway.

Valentine's flowers from my sweetheart - these got delivered on Valentine's Day. So sweet!

And my finished Dory socks. I love this yarn. Next pair I make, though, are going to be on smaller needles with fewer stitches. These ones are slightly baggy around the leg. I do, however, still need to block and weave ends in on these. 

These were started with 8 st from Judy's Magic Cast on, and ended with Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind off. I simply cast on the stitches, increased the toes as far as I needed until they fit, and then knit the foot; I did a short-row heel, and then zoomed up the leg in a 3x1 rib for about 6". So happy with them!! :D 

What did you do for knitting over the Olympics? Or did you do anything else crafty?

Katie =^..^= 

P.S. I'm going to try to do a chatter/week-in-review post every Tuesday from now on. Hopefully it works! haha

Busy, Busy, Busy!

WiP: Mittens
Sewing: Box Bags
Finished: Lots!

Ummmmm...Hi! I've been super busy. Along with a vacation hubby-to-be and I took (I'll post photos soon) at the beginning of the month, I'm stocking up for a show in Edgemont on November 16! So there's been lots of knitting and sewing going on here - mostly me knitting and sewing like a mad woman. I think I might have scared Dallas a little bit!

I've included some highlights below, but trust me, it's not the only things that have been finished! I have a few more highlights to post over the next couple of weeks, but this is what I'll share with you for now. :)

Last night, I finished these mitts with the sparkly cuffs:

This past weekend, I finished these unlined drawstring bags:

I'll be introducing these crocheted, decorate-your-own-tiara kits at Edgemont:

And this was my world on Sunday:

My Summer so Far

WiP: Felted Mittens, Chunky Slippers
FOs: Chunky Slippers (blue)

It's going to be a busy summer here at Nekozuki Yarns!

After I posted that I was looking for inspiration, I sat down, cracked the whip, and started a calendar along with a schedule for the next three months; now I need to plot out the three months after that.

This will not be a hard and fast sort of thing, as I'm starting to new products never seen in my shop before!

Like, box bags out of this awesome Marvel fabric I just found last night:

There will also be some of the same, like the felted mittens I worked on outside of Starbucks while I read the other day:

And although this is not something that I'm going to sell, but I finished Dallas's cardigan on Canada Day (and that's his blanket drying in the background - Log cabin baby blankets will likely be available at some point in the next year):

 

Finally, this is the Trans-Canada, only 9 days after it had been devastatingly washed out by the floods! (Sunday of Canada Day weekend, no less.)

 

So, my summer's going to be busy!  Look for more posts and photos as it progresses!

(Also, so glad that summer weather has finally got here...Although on the hottest days I have now been knitting mittens!)

What have you been up to so far this summer?

Katie =^..^=

Queue Enhancement Friday: Recently-Added Cardigans and Pullovers

I don't know what it is, but I keep thinking about cardigans and pullovers even though it's officially summer!

 

Rosemary Cardigan by Cassie Castillo

 

Emmanuelle Sweater by Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark

 

Praline Pullover by Emma Welford

 

Confectionary Pullover by Corrina Ferguson

 

Lace Cardigan by  Simona Merchant-Dest

Have fun! 

Katie =^..^=

Day # 2

WIPs: Boot cuffs
FOs: None
Progress: some (almost done 1/3 pairs of cuffs)!

They say it takes about three weeks to establish and maintain a good habit. So here's to day # 2 of habit making!

I went to the gym last night, and again this morning, and I'm all pumped and ready to go tomorrow and Sunday, and then I have to start training with my trainer again.

And, although I was up at about 6am this morning (well, my alarm started then. I didn't get up until the still unholy hour of 6:30am), I am feeling quite energized...But at the same time like I will actually be able to go to bed tonight and get an amazing night's sleep. Yay! Means that I'll try to be up at the still unholy hour of a wonderful hour of 6ish. I need to be up earlier than I was today to hit the gym earlier on the weekdays (less people, more spare time for me getting to work).

The upside of  this is that the gym doesn't open until 8 on weekend, which means I can get up and make myself a nice, hot breakfast, and get some knitting done (i.e. the boot cuffs. haha)~!

This is also day #2 for my blog posts! Yay! By the way, the 50th post brought my views up over 1600 views! So happy about it.

Also, I found pineapple-flavoured Danone yogurt drinks...Actually surprisingly tasty! I hope it helps cultivate good bacteria in my body!

Let's see...

Finally got all the information from all of the venues that we've been looking at. I think it's helped narrow it down to two specific ones, which we'll go look at in January (I think).

I know that it may seem like a long ways out, but I do really want to do this now so that they don't get booked up before we even get a chance, and since we do have such a long time we get our pick, mostly.

Another benefit on knowing where we'll be is we can put the town on Save-the-Dates, which I want to get out soon so that my international friends that I'm inviting have time to save to come here. It also allows me to see the space and see how I can decorate, and what handmade items I want to make to decorate. :) (i.e. garlands of yarn pom-poms, anyone? hahaha)

I'm going to have so much fun with this~!

Dallas has this last trip up north and then he's home for Christmas, so we can sit down and talk more seriously about what we want to do, and budget around things. He was studying for an exam last week he was home, and so that wasn't conducive to talking about much else. (Fingers crossed he passes!) (He thinks that he's going to be going from stressing about exams to stressing about wedding details. I told him no. It's going to be a lot of fun planning! At least, that's how I'm going to look at it, and that seems to be half the battle. That and I think I have amazing bridesmaids (actually, a Minion of Honour and Bride's Minions, which is even better)!)

If you read Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's wonderful Yarn Harlot blog, you will notice that I am likely going to start emulating her a bit more (like, with struck-out text above). If you don't read her blog, go do it. Do it now!!!! She's fantastic. :) And Canadian (all the better).

Now, to go contemplate...things. Like knitting (one more row and bind off for the first pair)!

Have a lovely evening, my dears!

Katie =^..^=

Update!

On the Needles: Mittens
In the Design process: Scarf and Advent Calendar

So, lots has been happening! Including, a start up of a new subsection in my shop: Christmas decorations! http://www.etsy.com/shop/NekozukiYarns?section_id=10546630

There's going to be lots more to come, too, like a knitted advent calendar, and more painted ornaments, which I'm working on a bit today.

I've rewritten the ten pages for my honours proposal, which is exciting. And now I'm working on my application for my Master's and for funding for said program. Which is exciting and terrifying.

Other than that, been keeping busy with reading. And my boyfriend, one of his friends, and I finally made it to the Upper Falls in Johnston Canyon! Success. Unfortunately, my camera was too cold to take pictures. Oh well. I'm sure we'll be there again.

And now, time to actually do some reading!

Take Care,

Katie

And So, the End Begins

On the needles: Orange moss stitch scarf, baby hat.
In production: Custom order scarf

OK, so blog didn't slow down quite as much as I thought (actually, this will be a pleasant break from having to think critically about three different courses AND "Beauty and the Beast"). Although I should technically be reading right now, especially since I still have class reading AND 10 pages to write by Thursday (which includes more reading). I won't go into the nitty gritty, but I feel like it's an accomplishment that I cooked dinners last week.

It's cold and rainy here today, which is sad, but OK. I need to concentrate on my readings. And knitting. I need to finish this moss stitch scarf so that I can make a delivery of all three at the same time...And get to visit my coworkers! I'm hoping that I can get it finished this week, because I can deliver it next Monday, or at least next week at some point. (My goal is before Thanksgiving.) After that, I can start on the custom order scarf (which I do need to tweak a bit...I'm having more difficulties than I thought I would). After that, watch out, because there'll be mittens and scarves and new stuff up on Etsy!

I might even be trying to cable in the scarf! And I am working on learning to crochet. I've kind of got it, but then I lost it. But I will persevere, even if all I end up with is dishcloths (for now)!

I found an awesome yarn review site here: http://www.knitpurlgurl.com/ As in, I just found it this morning. It seems like it'll be fun; I'll add the link to the "Online Yarns" as well.

Also, finally looked at this awesome shop in Calgary called "Blame Betty". At least, I looked at their website. I saw them as we were driving through 17th the other day, and I keep hearing about them. Seeing their style, I know where I'm shopping for a grad dress! http://www.blamebetty.ca/

Wednesday I have to stand up in front of my honours class and give a five minute blurb about what I'm actually researching, which is nervewracking. However, I can use it to start the 10 pages that I need for Thursday! I have a general idea of what I'm saying, although it doesn't include anything about the main texts in particular. But I do have quite a bit to say, and I'll ramble on to some measure about the whole thing about there not being much (if any) research in Gothic in fairy tales (beyond the passing mention of "Bluebeard", it seems), and how there is only one book currently about it even in Children's Literature.

It's interesting going back to class, because I am entering my fifth year, and I have been working on this project over the summer. A lot of these people that are in the classes are still so young, it kind of amazes me. Or just don't seem connected to things. I was waiting to speak to my supervisor after our Children's Literature class the other day, and one of the women (she was over 30) had thought that the Disney version of the fairy tales were American. I would say that that's fair, but for the fact that you can see it in their films. Yes, Disney, for a lot of people, is a mega corporation that's destroyed fairy tales. However, (first off, I'm a huge Disney fan, but I can see both sides of the argument), Disney has taken them and made them relevant to a lot of our social concerns today, just as the Grimm Brothers or Perrault did. And Disney clearly states (if you watch in "Cinderella") that this version is based off of Perrault's work.

The thing that seems to happen with a lot of people that bash Disney is that they aren't going outside the box and thinking about it critically. And you don't need to be a post-secondary student to think about it critically. Don't take things passively; even before I entered university, I was exploring the Grimms' fairy tales. And I knew that "The Little Mermaid" was actually Danish (Hans Christian Andersen), which is kind of hard to ignore when you know that her statue is in Copenhagen. Anyway. No, fairy tales aren't only American. There are variants of most of these tales from around the world. I have to say that I enjoy what Disney has done with the visuals for most of these films, and I much prefer their ending of "The Little Mermaid". But I'm also not taking these passively, and I'm seeking out other ways that these tales are told (obviously). However, I've also worked with Disney's version of "Beauty and the Beast" to argue that the Beast is, in fact, reverse objectified, becoming the focus of our ideas of masculine perfection, even more so than Belle being objectified. This is especially apparent which most of the audience also agrees that the Beast is actually better as the Beast than as the Prince. Disney works in getting these tales introduced to a mass audience, which is not necessarily a bad thing, and at least you can take them critically from there.

My argument for this paper is quite different, but I won't get into details here. Although part of it does have to do with Penny Arcade's argument in this webcomic: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/02/28

P.S. Even look at their costumes. It tells you a lot.

/End my side of the debate. For today.

So, on that note, my boyfriend and I also went to check out the "Cut!" exhibit at the Glenbow Museum, which was awesome! And my boyfriend hadn't been to the museum, so we went through most of the other exhibits, too, which was awesome. I still love going to see the geological display (especially all the sparklies).

And Saturday, I went with a friend to shop for her wedding dress, and she found one in the first shop. She looks absolutely amazing in it! I can't wait to see her wedding next year.

I got my card turned over to an "Honours" card so that I can take books about for 4 months (a term) at a time. So I only need to return one book by the 21, and the rest are with me until January! I had asked about this before the summer started, but got a really snarky reply, but then! I found out about last week, which made me happy. So much easier than having to run books back and forth.

Also, one novel down for school: Transmission by Hari Kunzru, which was actually quite good. I think that the discussion about it will be interesting. Hopefully. It's a split level class between senior level undergraduate students and graduate students, so it's interesting to see how it works. It's funny, because one of the girls that I started university with is in the class as well, but as a graduate student, so it's interesting to see how we're actually still at the same level in regards to classes.

OK. I need to go read and actually write my critical works. Having to do how I'm actually meshing together critical theories from Children's literature, fairy tales, and the Gothic, seeing as how there isn't any other literature doing it for me! (Which makes it easier and more difficult at the same time.)

Hope all is well! And one plug for the Etsy shop: I am accepting custom orders. Feel free to message me via the various means of Twitter, Facebook, Etsy conversation, or on here in the comments, and I'll get back to you! I may not be posting as often, but I do spend a few minutes to check everything each day.

Take care!

Katie =^..^=

Knitting, Knitting, Knitting! (And, actually, Honours!)

On the needles: Moss stitch orange scarf
To Cast on: double knit scarf

So that's the moss stitch scarf. I'm really happy with how it's turning out, and I hope that the lady I'm making it for likes it, too! I decided to do moss stitch so that it didn't cult like stockinette stitch scarves do. And it's a really nice yarn, so I wanted to show it off more than I wanted something really fancy. However, this stitch is VERY time consuming. The only reason I have as much done here as I do is because I watched "Gone With the Wind" last night. haha I knew that production would slow down around school. Although the biggest reason I didn't get as much work done as I should have last week was because I got a pretty bad something or another, and had a fluctuating fever for three days. It's better now, but I'm still recovering. I hate being sick, especially with how warm it was in Calgary last week. But at least it was before classes start.

Speaking of which, I start on Tuesday, and I'm nervously excited about it all. I'm working on my honours' reading right now; I have to have 10 pages, and a revised proposal, written by the 30th! I already have ideas brewing in my head as to what I'm going to say, but I probably should be worrying that I haven't actually read my primary texts yet, just the sources I selected surrounding them. Oh well...It's not like there's any specific sources that say, "Yes, there are Gothic tendencies in young adult fairy tales"; the only thing that comes close to saying this is The Gothic in Children's Literature, which only came out in 2007: 

http://books.google.com/books/about/The_gothic_in_children_s_literature.html?id=8dkdAQAAIAAJ

And I'm almost willing to bet that the biggest push for this was Harry Potter. Seems like there's a lot going on in this book about Harry Potter. Which is fine by me. I may eventually even go there myself. 

In some ways, not having previous scholarship on the subject makes it easier (I don't have to worry that I sound like I'm copying someone), but it also makes it difficult because you can't say "xyz said in ABC that "Beauty and the Beast" contains Gothic tendencies, and that is what I'm building from". Oh well. It also made me scratch my head for awhile, trying to figure out the best approach for my research. Am I focussing more on the fairy tale, or the Gothic constructs? My supervisor was awesome with helping me with my proposal, so I'm focusing on the Gothic, with some fairy tale research to fill in the gaps. 

And lots of reading will occur! Yay for senior level courses, and my honours seminar in which 40 pages is due by April. 

But I'm excited. 

And it'll also be the MA applications this year.

But I'm excited.

(Really, I am.)

Other than that, just getting over this ridiculous sickness, and then life will be good.

Even with all the reading! :) 

By the way, also in the process right now is a chunky yarn baby hat, which I'm really enjoying knitting, because it's super soft and squishy! I can't wait to get it a little bit more finished, and then I'll post pictures. Once I finish this scarf. 

Oooh, and this morning, one of my barettes was put into a curated list by another Etsian! Here's the link:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NjM3NDM2NHw3MDM1NTU1MjI/you-can-smell-it-in-the-air-fall-is-near?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share 

So happy!

Also, finished reading The Help, which I found really interesting. However, it felt like one of those books that I kept having to tuck away; like it's not something that I could read out in public. Which is kind of ridiculous, but interesting. However, this led to me watching "Gone with the Wind" (Which definitely made me uncomfortable at points), and now I'm reading Gone with the Wind in my "spare" (i.e. not school) reading time. We'll see how this goes. It'll probably take me until April to finish it! 

Take care, everyone. For everyone going back to school (or already finished their first week), good luck!

Katie =^..^=

P.S. I remember September 11, 2001. 

Long Weekend Ahead = Lots of Knitting

On the Needles: 10/16 Mittens (I need to pick it up)


So, it's Canada Day this weekend! And the company I'm working with has an extra day off on Monday, so that means that I have lots of spare time to knit and relax a bit. I'm heading home, and I'm going to get my boyfriend to drive, so I should get at least one mitten finished in that time. I need to get numbers 10-12 finished by this weekend, and then I'll only have two more pairs to go!


After that, I'm going to start putting together some items for the shop. For all my readers, what are you all interested in seeing me produce? So far, I'm planning to make corseted legwarmers, baby blankets, coffee cup cozies (both corseted and uncorseted), fingerless mitts, mittens, scarves, and baby booties (and potentially more bearded balaclavas)! I am open to suggestions and commissions (once I'm finished these mitts)!

I went yarn shopping last night and got some gorgeous Paton's Silk Bamboo yarn in Plum. I'm going to try knitting bell ruffled mittens with it. I can't wait to see how the colour looks full out, because it looks gorgeous as it is now:

It's not as dark in person, though.

And, with it also being Independence Day on Monday, it's a long weekend for most of North America. I'm planning on going home and visiting my cat and family and knitting. What's everyone else planning?

Have fun and for everyone on the roads: drive safe!


Kit-Kat

P.S. I will soon post pictures of these elusive mittens. Promise.